Our guesthouse is built on a slope, with the front on the downhill side and the back on the uphill side. Instead of building the front a little above ground level (which we would have done, and which would have resulted in the back being AT ground level) the builder put the front at ground level, which resulted in the back of the house ending up about three feet below ground level. Then he extended a patio about 15 feet out from the back and built an eight-foot high retaining wall. So when you look out of the rear windows of the guesthouse you are looking at a wall. All this was done without our knowledge, and when we discovered what he'd done, it was too late to change it. So we had this little patio behind the guesthouse that we just hated.
Next, when I began gardening I quickly became aware that some of the plants (like tomatoes) did not like the cool, wet, windy weather. So, in essence, as they say, we took lemons and made lemonade -- we had our handyman build a transparent roof over the patio. Voila! we had a greenhouse, a place to put plants that were sensitive to wind and rain.
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| Rainwater storage tank |
One unique design feature -- we designed it so we could collect the rainwater that ran into the roof-gutter and channel it into a 110 gallon tank with a spigot at the bottom. We use this water for the plants in the greenhouse. We also use the water to ferment compost tea. Being natural rainwater, with no chlorination, it is perfect for this purpose. After nine months of watering the plants, we have never run out of water from the tank.
I started tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and a few other things in the greenhouse. Never having had a greenhouse, and never even having thought about having one, I was faced with a learning curve.The greenhouse was going to be the silver bullet to end all my problems, I thought. But, alas, things went downhill from the start -- everything became sick.
It just so happened that the beginning stages of the greenhouse corresponded with a month of damp, cloudy, foggy weather. Not good.
The tomatoes got blossom-end rot, early blight, late blight, and powdery mildew. Although the peppers got powdery mildew, they did produce some peppers, but they were small and sickly looking. Cucumbers were planted in pots that were too small, and they got powdery mildew, produced a few cucumbers, which quickly became infested with tiny green worms that bored into the fruit, and then they just pooped out altogether. The eggplants got everything that the tomatoes got, but in spades. I started some celery plants (which really didn't need to be in the greenhouse) and they were small and puny looking.
Gradually I began to discover my mistakes and have taken corrective actions. Things are doing much better now.
The first lesson learned was that most plants in the nightshade family -- tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers -- not only don't like a lot of rain, they generally don't like high humidity either. Ed Burnhardt of The New Dawn Center taught me this. "Grow these things in the dry season, when the humidity is down," he told me. The dry season is upon us now, so time to start those tomatoes.
The second lesson was also taught to me by Ed -- tomatoes (and many other plants) will benefit from Epsom salts (and some lime) if grown in the wet topics. This is because the high rainfall leaches magnesium out of the soil. Magnesium plays a role in strengthening plant cell walls, allowing the plant to take in the nutrients it needs. It also aids in seed germination, photosynthesis, and in the formation of fruits and seeds. I had begun to use Epsom salts in the outdoor garden, but figured, I had given the plants in the greenhouse such good soil, they really didn't need Epsom salts. But then Art Sulenski, a gardener from the San Ramon area, mentioned in a post on the internet that he had used Epsom salts in his greenhouse. So I tried it. Within a week the plants had perked up and the tomatoes and eggplants were setting fruit for the first time.
The next big revelation was the importance of trays under pots. I had never grown anything in a pot before, so didn't understand the importance of having the pot sit on a tray or saucer. Over the years my wife had had potted plants indoors, and they always sat on saucers in order to protect the floor or furniture they sat on from water that might run out the bottom of the pots. I had also learned from her that African violets needed saucers, and when watering them, they should always be watered in the saucer, never from the top. But, I figured, I wasn't growing the plants indoors, and I wasn't growing African violets, so trays weren't necessary. The idea of trays came when I noticed that tiny ants were building colonies in many of the pots. I posted a message on the crgardening group about how to prevent ants in pots. The answer came back -- trays full of water under the pots. When I did this, the plants began to perk up almost immediately, especially the celery, which had been languishing (it is a plant that likes damp conditions). So, trays not only help control ants, but also keep the plants moister. Another benefit is that this reduces the frequency with which they need to be watered.
The other two minor lessons learned were to make sure the pots are large enough, and to prune off diseased and sickly-looking foliage.
Now that I have learned these basic greenhouse 101 lessons, I look forward to growing healthier plants.
Happy gardening!
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